Monday, May 16, 2011

I use so much regular garlic that to see the plant in its premature form always fills me with wonder and excitement. To think that these tender, scallion-like bulbs will eventually divide themselves into all those neat, paper-wrapped cloves fascinates me every time. Yes, I’m easily fascinated.

Green garlic, as I’ve come to learn relatively late in life, makes one hell of a good soup. Its flavor, once simmered slowly with potatoes and a bit of pork, is somewhere right in the middle between raw garlic and sweet caramelized onions.

The role of pork in this soup is being played by chopped-up prosciutto scraps, who you may remember from such productions as Roasted Asparagus with Prosciutto and Poached Egg. It did a fabulous job, but even the most novice soup maker could figure out how to substitute ham or bacon.

There are no secret tips or tricks here; this is about as simple a soup as you could ask for. As you’ll see in the video, we only pureed the large chucks, so this rustic soup had a little bit of texture to it. For me, this isn’t a soup that should be completely smooth. Like thornless roses, or radio-edit rap, it’s just not as interesting like that.

We still have more than a few chilly spring days ahead, so head out to the farmers market, or better produce markets, and grab some green garlic, so you can enjoy this fine soup. If you can’t find it, use leeks or green onions with some regular garlic instead. I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

I know how to make cream soups... the great thing is Chef John knows how to make them so much better! I'm not a novice cook, but it's partially true that it's (can't stress partially enough) those little tips and tricks you offer that keep me coming back for more Chef.

I love picking up tips, tricks, and ideas from you.I also can't wait to purchase your cookbook for myself, friends and family. I want to see this man paid for services rendered!

I made this last night, except I used leeks because I couldn't find any baby green garlic at my local grocery store..yes Chef John, it's the one with the big parking lot. :) I put a little too much garlic in though, but it's still darn tasty.

PS: I've been having problems finding commercial cream without carrageenan (a thickener that HATES me), until I went through all the cream labels at shopwell's site. I finally found Organic Valley's regular pasteurized didn't have carrageenan (but beware that their ULTRA pasteurized cream does have carrageenan). I had to special request it through my nearest health food store (I used Organic Valley's zip finder to see which local vendors carried their product). I'll probably bulk order and freeze it - yes I know frozen cream won't "whip", but at least I can enjoy cream soups and sauces again, YAY!

It seems carrageenan doesn't bother most people, but I'm finding more and more posts here and there about it. Now you know one source should any of your readers have digestive problems after using heavy cream.

Another fantastic recipe. Thanks again for showing us how easy it is to make simple and delicious meals. I appreciate how you let the basic ingredients do the talking, instead of getting unnecessarily complicated.

So you minored in "herb distribution," huh? I'm guessing that's when the inside-out grilled cheese first made its appearance? ;)

This looks fabulous and I'm going to give it a whirl as soon as I have a moment or two.

A few questions: I usually don't have broth but do have lots of chicken stock in the freezer. Anything that broth brings to the party that stock won't?

I know your immersion blender was broken but how about using a food processor? Or would that tend to puree things too much and perhaps form gluten, making the soup gluey?

I'm also thinking that for a minor variant, slightly caramelizing the veggies might add a sweeter note, as you suggest. Any reasons you can think of not to (other than it changes the character of the soup from the original recipe)?

BTW, loved your on-camera cameo appearance in the reflection in the spoon during the herb sprinkling.

Thanks for another great recipe! Just wanted to let you know I only had 30 mins total to throw this together, and used a leek instead of green garlic, but it still turned out delicious! Basically I only sweated the leeks for 5 mins before adding the stock, threw in the potatoes at the same time, and used an immersion blender in the pot as soon as they were soft. I recommend this shortcut if you are short on time, will definitely be making this again!

To be honest, right after I posted my comment I figured the post must contain some information about a substitute, however when I started reading I noticed how much you praised green garlic... I was convinced it was the only option worth mentioning. :PBy the way, I noticed you said Shitaki mushrooms can be put instead of pork. What about Portobello mushrooms?

Got inspired and made this today with turnips instead of potatoes and leeks and garlic instead of green garlic! The immersion blender worked well. I reserved a few large chunks to add back into the soup in case I got crazy with the blender. Delicious! Thank you Chef John.